1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a porous body and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, microstructures to be used as functional materials have been objects of growing interest.
Known techniques for preparing such a microstructure include those relying on the semiconductor processing technology, particularly the micro-pattern forming technology such as photolithography, so as to directly prepare a microstructure (see, inter alia, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-55545 (p. 3, FIG. 1)).
Apart from the use of the semiconductor processing technology, there are also known techniques that utilize the phenomenon of self-organization or self-formation. These techniques have been developed to produce novel microstructures on the basis of orderly formed structures that are found in the nature.
While many researches are under way, using techniques that utilize the phenomenon of self-organization or self-formation, because such techniques seem to be promising for realizing microstructures of the order of nanometers, to say nothing of micrometers, they are still not sufficiently proven. Therefore, there is a strong demand for novel microstructures and proven methods for manufacturing such novel microstructures.